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Monday, December 3, 2012

What do you call them: portobello or portabella mushrooms? There appears to be a "Team Portobello" and a "Team Portabella" who often engage in mushroomy debates. I think I might start calling them "porties" from now on, just to be neutral and non-confrontational.

Anyway, I love big portobello caps because they are a perfect vessel to recycle leftovers. Wash, bake, stuff, re-bake, and done! I had some leftover chopped and sautéed Brussels sprouts, along with some leftover mashed potatoes that needed to be used up. There was only enough for one person, which was fine because Mr. Wing-It would rather eat his own foot before he even looks at a Brussels sprout. More for me!

Here's how to make a recycled-leftovers stuffed mushroom:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
Gently wash and dry your mushroom. Remove the stem.
Brush a little olive oil all over the mushroom.
Bake it for 10 minutes.
Stuff it with your leftover veggies and top it with your leftover mashed potatoes.
If you want, brush a bit of olive oil on top of the mashed potatoes and sprinkle a little paprika on top.
Bake for 10 more minutes or until hot. Serve!

Brushing a bit of olive oil on top before baking it gives it a nice golden color.

These were the best leftovers I have ever had! Maybe next time I will stuff them with seasoned black beans and top them with mashed sweet potatoes. Or stuff them with a spicy spinach concoction and top them with mashed butternut squash! Oh, the possibilities! Let's dig in...

PS: Have you guys seen the video of Bo inspecting the Christmas decorations around the White House? His WTF (What the Frankincense) face at 1:04 when he's looking at the Faux-Bo is too cute and funny for words!

Shepherd's shroom! I love it! Should I have skillfully piped the mashed potatoes instead of mindlessly plopping them on there? Wait a minute - shepherd's pie... piped mashed potatoes... I could be the Pie Piper! :D

We just call them "open cap mushrooms" here in Australia. You can buy smaller ones...or bigger ones and no portobello/portabella argument exists here ;). Those stuffed caps look delicious! I am in the enviable position of suffering a glut of mushrooms. We top dressed our veggie garden with mushroom compost this year and the mushrooms are going mental out there and I have paper bags full of them. I am adding them to everything and have regular open capped mushrooms and Swiss browns so your recipe will be explored in the near future as I LOVE Brussels sprouts and Steve only eats tiny ones with Christmas dinner (a very VERY selective use for Brussels sprouts ;) ) so it's up to me to keep the home fires burning so to speak :)

Very enviable position indeed! That must be quite the sight. So I'm moving to Australia and I'm moving into your neighborhood! If you notice any mushrooms missing from your garden... it must be the elves and fairies... not me. Mwahaha!